Coca Cola West Red Sparks

Coca Cola West Red Sparks
コカ･コーラウエスト
レッドスパークス

Full name	Coca Cola West Red Sparks
Union	Japan Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s)	Red Sparks
Founded	1966
Location	Fukuoka, Japan
Ground(s)	Sawayaka Sports Park
Coach(es)	Shogo Mukai
Team kit

Coca Cola West Red Sparks RFC (formerly Coca Cola West Japan and originally Kitakyushu Coca Cola when founded) is a Japanese company-owned rugby union team based in Fukuoka city, Kyūshū. The coach is currently Shogo Mukai (appointed April 1, 2004), the former Japan national rugby union team coach during the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup.

The team won promotion to the expanded Top League of 14 teams at the end of the 2005-6 season, and was renamed Coca Cola West Red Sparks. The club motto is "Have Guts Have Glory" and their slogan for 2006 season: "Always Attack & Aggressive". In the fourth Top League (2006-7) the team came 10th, with four wins, nine losses and 21 points. It therefore did not need to take part in any play-offs. Sanix, the local rivals, came ninth.

The team is now (2007) one of three teams from Kyūshū in the Top League. The other two are Fukuoka Sanix Blues and newcomer Kyuden Voltex. The team mascot's name is Sparky.

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-IRB nationality.

Player Position Union Kenji Kura Hooker Japan Shintarou Hinokuma Hooker Japan Katsunori Yamashita Prop Japan Ken Matsuo Prop Japan Tatsukichi Nishiura Prop Japan Ryo Iwamoto Prop Japan Yusaku Kuwazuru Lock Japan Hidetoshi Mine Lock Japan Wataru Horita Lock Japan Takeshi Matsumoto Lock Japan Shuhei Kawashita Lock Japan Wayne Ormond Flanker New Zealand Kei Okada Flanker Japan Angus MacDonald Flanker New Zealand Tomohiro Yamaguchi Flanker Japan Akihiro Iwanaga Flanker Japan Yuki Ishimaru Flanker Japan Elone Takitaki Number 8 Tonga Shigeki Uemoto Number 8 Japan

Player Position Union Keisuke Takeuchi Scrum-half Japan Takeshi Katsuki Scrum-half Japan Kotaro Morihara Scrum-half Japan Soushi Fuchigami Fly-half Japan Tetsuya Fukuda Fly-half Japan Hisatoshi Yamada Fly-half Japan Wataru Yoshihara Fly-half Japan Shaun Webb Fly-half Japan Brendan Neilson Centre Japan Lelea Paea Centre Australia Masaru Kanahori Wing Japan Taiki Koyanagi Wing Japan Brett Stapleton Wing Australia Masahiro Tsuiki Wing Japan Shigehisa Tokuzumi Fullback Japan Yamato Eto Fullback Japan Daisuke Haradome Fullback Japan Genki Matsuoka Fullback Japan

^[1]

Former

• George Laupepe - Centre
• Luke Andrews - No.8
• Mark Ranby - Centre
• Benjamin Jones - Full Back
• Soushi Fuchigami - Fly Half

Coaches

• Shogo Mukai
• Andrew McCormick - adviser

Home ground

• Sawayaka Sports Hiroba, Kashiihama 3-21, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka. Tel:[phone]

References

1. ^ "Rugby Japan Official Player List(Japanese)". http://www.top-league.jp/team/player.jsp. 

See also

• Top League Challenge series

External links

• Coca Cola West Red Sparks - official website